Machine for grinding or polishing the ends of corks.



N01a5s,sa1. A l PAIBIIIBD MAI I4, '190mV o. IRWIN. MACHINE PoR GRINIIING0R PoLIsHING THE' ENDS 0F Gomis.,

APPLIoATIoII FILED 00120, 190s.

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No. 853,881. JPM213NTB`1 MAY 14, 190V. o. IRWIN.

MAGHINB PUR GRINDING 0R PoLIsHING THE ENDS 0F Gomis.

APPLIOATIUN'PILBD 00T. 20, 1905.

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PATBNTBD MAY 14, 190'7.

yo. IRWIN. MAGHINE Fon GRINDING 0R POLISHINGTHE ENDS 0F Gomis.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 20, 1905. I

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INVENTOR rus Non/Ns PETERS co., Musulman, D, c

UNTTED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

OSCAR IRWIN, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ARMSTRONG CORKCOMPANY, PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING THE ENDS OF CORKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 14, 1907.

Application filed October 20, 1905. Serial No.. 283,640.

' To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR IRWIN, of Pittsburg, Allegheny county,Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Machine for Grinding orPolishing the Ends of Corks, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part of this specification, in Whichz 'Figure 1 is a top planview of a machine embodying my invention, with the hopper and the upperportion of the hopper support being removed and the position of thehopper indicated by dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a front view of the machine;Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2;Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the hopper distributer, and portions ofthe cork-feeding and assorting rollers, Fig. 5 is a plan view showingthe conveyer, the grinding or polishing disk, the rotary carrier, andthe adjacent parts on a larger scale; and Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic viewshowing the driving belt arrangement for the feeding and assortingrollers and the conveyer.

My invention relates to machines for grinding the ends of tapered corks.

My invention provides means of simple and efficient character, wherebythe corks are fed automatically and successively, with great rapidityinto the machine to the action of thel grinding or polishing wheel.

My invention is also designed to provide cork-feeding mechanism of suchcharacter as to operate, also to automatically size and assort, thecorks, rejecting those which are either under-sized or over-sized, aswell asA those which are imperfect in their formation.

I attain the above stated objects by the novel construction, arrangementand combination of parts all substantially as hereinafter specified andpointed out in the'appended.

claims.

In the drawings, 2 is a hopper into which the corks to be ground orpolished are placed and from which they are fed to the machine. Thishopper is supported upon a frame standard 3 forming a part of the mainsupporting frame 4.

5 is an agitating and distributing device by means of which the corksare successively taken from the throat portionof the hopper 2 and aredelivered' into an inclined feed-tube or chute 6. The device preferablyconsists of a roller having a doublecone face provided with a pluralityof studs or small projections 5a and formed with a Vcentral peripheralgroove 5b. y

7, 7 designate two parallel spaced rollers, which are journaled in asuitable supporting frame vcarried by the standards 3, and which lie inan inclined plane, with their upper end portions below the discharge endof the feedtube or chute 6. These rollers are provided withlongitudinally luted peripheral surfaces and are connected at one end byintermeshing spur-gears 9, one of said rollers being positively rotatedby a ulley 10 driven in the manner hereinafter escribed, the directionof rotation of said pulley being such that the upper portions of therollers are rotated away from each other in opposite directions.

11 is a vertical pipe or tube whose open upper end portion extends intoposition to re ceive the corks discharged at the lower end portions ofthe rollers 7 in the manner hereinafter described and whose lower endeX- tends over the horizontal portion of an. endless conveyer 12 whichis carried by the rollers 13, 14 and '15. W

16 is a longitudinal guard strip which overlies the space between therollers 7 for the purpose of holding down .the corks passing betweensaid rollers. This strip is shown as broken away in Fig. 1 in order tomore clearly show the rollers. d

17 designates the grinding or olishing disk which is secured to a shaft18 riven by pulley 19. ,j

20 is a carrier for bringing the corks to the grinding wheel, and whichconsists of a circular wheel or disk secured to a shaft 21 and havingits peripheral surface formed with a series ofl tapered recesses 22,each shaped to receive and hold a cork therein. In order to hold thecorks in these seats while they are being ground or polished, I provideimmediately above the said carrier a holding wheel 23 which is journaledin an arm or frame 24 pivoted at 25 in such a manner that its weightwill hold it in resting engagement with the corks in the carrier 20 asthey are successively brought to the grinding wheel. To partiallycounteract the weight of this wheel, and to adjust the same, I providethe spring 26 which has an upward bearing against the frame 24, its

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' idlers 56 and around the pu lower end being seated against theadjusting screw 27. By 'means of this screw the degree of pressure ofthe wheel 23 upon the corks may be accurately regulated.

The conveyer 12 before referred to extends to one side of the carrier20, and in order to transfer the corks successively from the conveyer tothe carrier I provide the reciprocatirg pusher 28 which is arranged tow'ork in guides 29. This pusher is actuated by an arm or rod 30comiected to a rocker shaft 3l to which is secured an arm 32 carrying atits free end portion a roller 33, whichi s arrai` ged to contact withthe teeth of a star wheel 34 secured to a shaft 35.

36 is a spring which is coiled around the shaft 31 and which operates toactuate said shaft reversely to the star wheel 34.

The shaft 35 is driven by pinion 37, through an idler pinion 37aL whichmeshes with a spur wheel 38 on the shaft 21 of the rotary carrier 20,and the latter is driven by the spur-gears 39, 40, 41 and 42 and pulley43, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

In order to insure the delivery 'of the corks to the pusher 28, at theroper intervals, the stop 44 is provided, see Figs. 1 and 5). This stopis arranged to be normally projected over the carrier 12 into the pathof the corks by means of a spring 45, and is retracted from suchposition by means of a pivoted arm 46 which engages said stop and isalso engaged by a pin or projection 47 on the pusher 28. By means ofthis arrangement the operation of the stop is brought into proper timerelation to the operation of the pusher.

48 designates a suction-pipe, the purpose of which is to eXert an airsuction upon the corks as they are pushed onto the carrier 2O and drawthem back into proper position. to contact with the grinding face of thewheel 17 While any suitable arrangement of driving means may be providedfor the various parts of the machine above described, I have shown thefollowing arrangement :--The shaft 49 carries a pulley 50 driven by belt51. The second pulley 52 on the shaft 49 is con nected by driving belt52"L with a belt wheel 53 on the shaft of the agitator and distributer5. The shaft 49 also carries a third pulley 54 driving a belt 55 whichasses over the lley 10 on the shaft of one of the rollers 7 The saidroller 7 has a belt connection 57 with a pulley 58 on the shaft of theconveyer roller 13. The grinding or polishing wheel 17 is driven by across-belt 59 preferably from the same shaft as the belt 51 abovereferred to. The direction of rotation of the various parts is indicatedby the arrows.

The operation of the machine is as follows The corks from the hopperpass through the tube 6 and are delivered between the two inclinedoppositely rotating feeding and assorting rollers 7. These rollers are`spaced and adjusted so that corks of the proper size. will be receivedand caused to hang between them in the manner shown in F 4 with theirsmaller ends downward, and are prevented from being thrown out by meansol the guard 1.6. The corks in this position slide successively downwardbetween the rollers until they are discharged in to the vertical pipe 11from which they pass to the conveyer 1.2. All corks which are under sizeor imperfectly formed will drop through the rollers onto the inclinedchute 7"L and from thence to the vertical discharge pipe 7), while allcorks which are oversize, being unable to drop between the rollers, aredischarged at their lower ends. In this manner I secure a. perfectasserting and. sizing of the corks, all those which are imperfect inthe. matter of size or otherwise being separated out. As the corks fallonto the conveyor 12 they are carried, small end foremost, as shown indotted lines in Fig. 5, until they reach the stop 44. Each cork is nowstopped until the pusher 28 is retracted., when the stop 44 re.- leasesits cork and the latter passes to a| position in front of the saidpusher and i moved by it onto the carrier wheel 2() into one of therecesses 22 where it is pressed by the holding wheel 23. As the cork isbeing moved by the pusher it is acted upon by the suction from the airpipe 48 and drawn into contact with the grinding or polishing` disk 17.

The machine as shown and described is designed for grinding or polishingthe larger ends of corks. It may, however, he used to equal advantageupon the smaller ends by simply reversing the relations ol' the carrier20 and the grinding wheel or disk, with aeorresponding change in thelocation of the. snetion pipe.

It will be apparent that the action of the. machine is very rapid andthat the only manual operation necessary is that of keeping the hopperor feed receptacle 2 supplied with the cork blanks.

The advantages of my invention result from the automatic feeding of thecorks in the manner described, whereby the capacity of the machine isincreased very largely and the machine operator is enabled to attend toa number of machines; also in the means described whereby the defective.corks are discarded, and in the general effective operation of themachine.

It will be obvious that various changes may be made in the details ofconstruction and arrangement, that the driving means herein describedmay be widely changed, and that other changes may be made in the machinewithout affecting my invention, since.

IVhat I claim is 1. A cork grinding or polishing machine having a feedhopper, cork feeding and asserting means to which the corks are deliv-IOS ered from the hopper and which separates out the defective corks andfeeds the good corks, a grinding or polishing wheel, and means forcarrying the corks discharged from the feeding and assorting device tothe action of the grinding or polishing wheel; substantially asdescribed.

2. A cork-grinding or polishing machine,

having a pair of cork-feeding rollers which feed the corks in thedirection ofthe aXis of the rollers, means for delivering the corks tothe said rollers in vertical position with their small ends downward agrinding or polishing wheel, and carrier mechanism intermediate thedischarge of said rollers and the grinding or polishing wheel;substantially as described.

3. In a machine ofthe class described, a cork-feeding and assortingdevice, comprising two spaced parallel rollers, means for preventing thecorks from being thrown off the rollers, and means for revolving thesame; substantially as described.

4. In a cork grinding machine, a cork-feeding and assorting device,comprising two spaced parallel rollers, means for delivering the corksto the said rollers in 4vertical position with their small ends downwardand means for revolving the same oppositely to each other, substantiallyas described.

5. In a cork grinding machine, a cork-feeding and assorting device,comprising Vtwo s aced parallel rollers sup orted in an inclined lane,and means or receiving the corks elivered by the rollers substantiallyas described.

6. In a machine of the class described, a cork-feeding and assortindevice, consistin of two spaced parallel ro lers having flute surfacesand supported in an inclined plane; substantially as described. y

7. In a machine of the class described, a cork-feeding device,comprising two spaced parallel inclined rollers, means for revolvin thesame in opposite directions, and a guar overlying the space between thesaid rollers;

substantially as described.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination with l agrinding or polishing wheel or disk, of a rotary carrier adjacentthereto, a cork-gripping or holding wheel above the said carrier, aconveyer for delivering the corks to said carrier, and an airsuctionpipe having a suction opening adjacent to the said carrier;substantially as described.

9. In amachine of the class described, cork-feeding and assorting means,comprising two parallel rollers placed side by side, and spaced so as topermit undersized corks to pass between them, but to retain full sizedcorks, means for delivering the corks to said rollers in verticalposition and means for rotating the rollers; substantially as described.

10. In a machine of the class described,

the combination of a conveyer, a stop in the path of corks on theconveyer, a cork-holding and carrier wheel, a pusher for transferringthe corks from the conveyer to the said wheel, means for operating thepusher and stop in time relation to each other, a grinding or polishingwheel, and means for forcing the cork into contact with suchwheel;substantially as described.

11. In a machine of the class described, `the combination with arotating cork carrier and Van endless conveyer, of a reciprocatingpusher for transferring the corks from the conveyer to the carrier, acork-stopping device in advance of the pusher and actuated in timerelation therewith, and an air suction pipe havingy a suction openingadjacent to said carrier and pusher; substantially as described. y s

12. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a corkconveyer, a rotary cork carrier, a pusher for transferring the corksfrom the conveyer to the carrier, means for actuating said pusher, acork-stop in advance of the carrier, a spring actuating said stop in onedirection, and a connection with the pusher for operating the stop in areverse direction; substantially as described.

13. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a feedhopper and a delivery device in the throat thereof, of an inclinedfeed-tube, and a pair of spaced parallel inclined rollers between theupper portions of which the said tube is arranged to discharge,

and means for rotating said rollers; substantially as described.

14. In a machine of the class described, a cork-feeding and assortingdevice comprising two parallel rollers supported in an inclined plane,means for delivering the corks to said rollers so that they will bereceived between the rollers in substantially vertical position, and achute arranged to receive the corks discharged by the said rollers;substantially as described.

15. In a cork machine, a sizing device t'o and through which the corkblanks are fed, a tool for working the blanks, and transfer devices forcarrying the blanks from the sizing device to the tool; substantially asdescribed.

16. In a cork machine, a sizing device to which the cork blanks are fed,which has a channel through which the blanks are arranged to pass withtheir small ends downward, a tool for working the blanks, and transferdevices for carrying the blanks from the sizing. device to the tool;substantially as described.

17. In 4a cork machine, a sizing device to which the cork blanks arefed, said device consisting of spaced members forming an open channelbetween them through which the blanks are arranged to move with theirsmaller ends downward, a tool for working the blanks, and transferdevices for carrying IIO IIS

the blanks from the sizing device to the tool; substantially asdescribed.

18. In a cork machine, a sizing channel through which the cork blanksare fed, the walls of such channel consisting of spaced members betweenwhich the blanks move with their smaller` ends downward; substantiallyas described.

19. In a cork machine, a sizing channel or passage of definite size andhaving an open bottom for a portion at least o1" its length throughwhich under-sized cork blanks can escape, and means for separatingover-sized blanks from those of the proper size 5 substantially asdescribed. y

20. In a cork machine, a sizing channel or passage of definite size andhaving an open bottom for a portion at least of its length to permit theescape of under-sized cork blanks,

said channel being also arranged to permit the escape of over-sizedblanks at its delivery end, and a conduit communicating with saidchannel or passage at an intermediate point to receive blanks of' theproper size g substantially as described.

21. In a cork-grinding machine, a sizing passage or channel throughwhich the cork blanks are ied, and by means of which they areautomatically sized and assorted, a grinding tool, and transfer devicesfor carrying the blanks from the sizing passage or channel to the toolsubstantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

OSCAR IRWIN Witnesses GEO. H. PARMELEE, H. M. CoRwiN

